Reading boss Brian McDermott admits they considered Marouane Fellaini before his move to Everton.
Fellaini has been one of Everton's outstanding performers this season, scoring six goals, and the midfielder is a player McDermott looked at before he made the move to Goodison Park.
"I've known Fellaini since he was 17. I was watching a tournament, I think it might have been in Porto, in around 2006," he said.
"I asked about him to see if he would come to Reading, but at that time he was 17 and was £7million so we were nowhere near it."